- | Is Your State Ready for Drone Commerce? The 2022 State-by-State Scorecard Is Your State Ready for Drone Commerce? The 2022 State-by-State Scorecard
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48 (Tied) | Rhode Island
Score: 1/100
- Airspace Lease Law: 0/30
- Avigation Easement Law: 0/25
- Task Force or Program Office: 0/20
- Law Vesting Landowners with Air Rights: 0/10
- Sandbox: 0/10
- Jobs Estimate: 1/5
Factors Hindering the State Score
- Airspace Lease Law: Rhode Island law does not allow public authorities to lease low-altitude airspace above state and local roads. An airspace lease law would allow state or local officials to create drone highways above these roadways.
- Avigation Easement Law: Rhode Island law does not create an avigation easement, which means drone operators may be subject to nuisance and trespass laws, even if their drones do not disturb people on the ground.
- Task Force or Program Office: State leaders should consider convening a statewide drone task force or creating a drone program office within the transportation department.
- Law Vesting Landowners with Air Rights: Rhode Island law does not expressly provide air rights to landowners, which raises litigation risk for drone operators because landowners do not know the extent of their property rights and may sue to protect their interests.
- Sandbox: Rhode Island does not have a drone sandbox. State officials should consider dedicating state facilities and airspace to commercial drone testing and should have a prominent, open invitation for drone companies to test their hardware and services.
- Jobs Estimate: Rhode Island is in the bottom quintile when it comes to the number of drone-related jobs per 100,000 people, receiving one out of five points.
These factors make Rhode Island tied (with Mississippi and Nebraska) for the 48th most drone-friendly state in the country.